Just finished watching the season finale, "The Best Night Ever", and it was GREAT! While not THE best episode of the season, it was a really fun way to close it.

God, where do I begin... There were SO many highlights!

- Yes, this is indeed the Grand Galloping Gala episode, which was teased on the third episode.

- What's so great is that fanfic writers and comic artists predicted that it would be a big disappointment for the ponies. And that's exactly what happened.

- Basically, the premise is that the ponies go to the gala and try to make their dreams come true.

- Once again, these writers are geniuses. This episode could have been really saccharine and sweet, and end it exactly how most stories of this type end: with an overly corny happy ending. However, it went against the norm and made it surprisingly pleasing to watch!

- Nearly all of the characters went out of character, especially Fluttershy. Oh man did her character go EXTREMELY out of it! Let me tell you this...if you thought insane Pinkie Pie was crazy last week you will LOVE angry Fluttershy!

- The whole thing was also a shout out to Cinderella. There was even a great joke thrown it at the beginning and at the end about it.

- Oh and Trollestia makes a grand return

Overall, it was a fantastic episode with a lot of great, funny moments. Now, we have to wait till the end of the year for new episodes .

- Nearly all of the characters went out of character, especially Fluttershy. Oh man did her character go EXTREMELY out of it! Let me tell you this...if you thought insane Pinkie Pie was crazy last week you will LOVE angry Fluttershy!

- Nearly all of the characters went out of character, especially Fluttershy. Oh man did her character go EXTREMELY out of it! Let me tell you this...if you thought insane Pinkie Pie was crazy last week you will LOVE angry Fluttershy!

OMG that was THE best part of the episode by far!

What a jerk that prince was too.

I loved how Rarity was so turned off by him, she left behind a glass slipper, and Pinkie Pie is saying "Oh look! Now the Prince can find you!", then Rarity rushes back and destroys it.

Again, brilliant set up and jokes. My only, teeny weeny complain is that I wish the Grand Galloping Gala was a tad better of a success than it was. Yeah, I thought what the writers did was brilliant in execution, as it avoided the cliches expected in similar storylines. But considering how the ponies were so excited in episode 3 about it I wish something had gone right for them.

The message at the end felt a bit tacked on as well. I get that the message is that there are times where expectations will not be met, but you still gotta try and have fun. But considering how horrible everything went from them it's a bit hard to see how they can be glad at the end of it all.

Then again, they could be alluding to the fact that after we experience a bad, humiliating or messy event, we look back upon it and laugh, and that's what the ponies did.

Friendship is Magic is filled with many messages and ideas where your mileage does indeed vary.

But regardless, still a great episode, and now I am eagerly awaiting for the Angry Fluttershy pictures to pop up

She can continue being deeply involved with the series, so now she will be consulting producer once the new season starts.

This has me worried. History has shown that whenever a creator leaves a show, the quality drops significantly. Case in point, Spongebob. Stephen Hillerburg leaves, the show is now unwatchable.

Luckily, a lot of people made the first season happen so it seems we are in good hands for now.

EDIT: OK, this has me REALLY worried. Because of one thing... Hasbro.

It's common knowledge that Hasbro has meddled in the show, altering things here and there. My fear is that with Faust out of the show, we could lose some of the quirks that made it enjoyable. This means that Fluttershy might not become Flutterrage anymore, Pinkie Pie doesn't break the fourth wall often and hell, Rainbow Dash might be more girly!

In other words, they might turn FiM into another bland My Little Pony series for the sake of profit.

Of course, this might just be the paranoid brony in me talking, but still...

I haven't seen this show yet, besides a couple YouTube samples. I have heard some cool things about it, like how a lot of the Powerpuff Girls/Foster's crew members are working on this, and how despite it being based from a toy product, it's actually transcended appeal far beyond the little girl demographic.

From the few clips I have seen, Fluttershy is a very sweet character. Whoever voices her does an excellent job.

I'm really not all that worried. I mean, yes, Lauren is important to the show, but she hasn't written a single episode (apart from the pilot two-parter and "The Ticket Master") and isn't the director. She's going to continue to be a consultant, but if you ask me, the writers and director won't let Hasbro do too much meddling.

Actually, Lauren's leaving may have some good points, too. She has said time and time again that she will not have Rainbow Dash in any sort of lesbian relationship, but if you watch most of the episodes that feature both her and Pinkie Pie, it becomes pretty obvious that someone on the project (be it the director, writers, animators, or some combination of all of them) disagrees. RD and PP have the potential to be the next Willow and Tara. The show is popular enough, plus it would probably be the first children's show in America to actually have the balls to do it. Lauren didn't approve, but I think without her, it is a lot more likely to happen....

I don't think that will happen regardless of Lauren staying or not. It's still My Little Pony, it's still owned by Hasbro, and it still airs when young children can watch it. I really don't think Hasbro would approve of an obvious lesbian relationship with its main characters on a show like this.

As for Lauren leaving, apparently she was still in charge of consulting the writing in pre-production, but left during the actual production of the show. Since she didn't have much to do with the animation, all should be well this season. If the show gets a third and they're still without her, then I'll be a little more worried, but my hopes have risen a little.

Yeah, after the announcement I realized that season 2 is underway, and Faust herself confirmed that many of the changes have already been set, so even if Hasbro were to meddle they would have to do a lot in order to change it.

Season 3 if it happens, however, might be another thing entirely.

Regarding the Rainbow Dash/Pinkie Pie thing, it will NOT happen. Yes, the creators are very aware of the shipping going on in the fanbase, but they wouldn't put something that explicit. I mean, they are pretty much crossing the line when the characters are feeling a little crazy (ie Pinkie Pie).

They MIGHT throw hints that only the fanbase will exploit, but I doubt they will do that. This is still a kid's show.

I have to say about the Pony fandom. Obviously, the show exploded in popularity and NO ONE expected it, which lead to this insane fanbase. I mean, the show premiered in October last year, and it has since then gained a loyal following.

Of course, when something becomes that popular, and especially when it's something like My Little Pony, there will be doubters and haters. And boy does this show have plenty of them. It's almost like an answer to the extreme love the show got.

The first, and most obvious one of all, is that men are having their sexuality questioned because of their love of the show. In other words... "You watch Friendship is Magic, you lose your man card". This is easily the silliest of them all, and it proves that the show has pretty much shattered all ideas about sexuality and gender roles, and now people are running around trying to get it back together.

A lot are saying that it is "worrying" that male adults are enjoying the show. While I agree that some of the fans are disturbing, that's nothing new. In EVERY fandom there is always that one fan who has to take it far to the point of psychotic tendencies.

But what annoys me are the double standards. Apparently, it is worrying when a male adult likes Friendship is Magic. But what if the male adult is obsessed with Doctor Who, Glee, comics books, movies or anything else? I take it those things are deemed "acceptable" because they have been labeled as "the right kind of stuff to enjoy". That's an annoying double standard. If it's weird when a male adult is obsessed with ponies, it is weird when he does it with EVERYTHING ELSE.

Finally, a lot of people are saying that people are (and pardon the horrible pun) "beating a dead horse" with this Pony phenomenon. Basically, they are implying that the fandom will fizzle out, and the remaining "bronies" will just be obnoxious about it.

Personally, while I think the fandom will slow down a bit and not be as insane as when it first started, I think the show will have a loyal cult following long after it ends, and maybe even be regarded as a great nostalgic show. People seem to forget that when something gets a loyal following, it WILL live on. Take Firefly. The show lasted only one season, canceled by Fox quickly. But the solid stories and characters kept it a fan favorite long after it ended, and it made the movie happen.

When a fanbase decides to take something (book, movie, franchise etc.) it usually is nearly for life, and I think Friendship is Magic will have that kind of staying power. The memes may dry out eventually and not be as strong as before, but the show itself will endure for many years.

Thought I would repost this for all the pony fans. As much of a douchebag as Prince Blueblood is, I still can't help liking him for his total vanity and prissiness. And this tumblr entitled "Ask The Prince Blueblood" is just total hilarity. I spent probably a good hour or two just reading through it and cracking up.

Sorry for the massive bump thread, but I wanted to express my opinions on the new season as well as a rant regarding the fanbase this has spawned.

Season two of Friendship is Magic has been amazing to say the least. Not every episode is a gem, but I love the fact that the stories have become more ambitious and rooted in famous pieces of fiction, like "I Love Lucy" and "The Music Man". The comedy has also been great, especially "Lesson Zero" and "Luna Eclipsed". There are just not many stinkers so far, even the most dull sounding episode, like "May the best pet win", has some great moments of characterization, animation and music.

That being said, I love the show to death... but I am beginning to loathe the fanbase, aka Bronies. See at first it was great that the show had a very loyal community that welcomed you without any questions. You loved the show? You were great. It was awesome as it made me enjoy the show a lot more. But then when Hasbro and the media starting taking notice of the community things began to change. The attention gave the community a sense of unwarranted self importance, and has begun to turn its back on the things that made it special to begin with.

Let me put it this way... you know when a race or community starts to fight a bigger social misconception, and when they start to win they get lots of support until they gain equal or better power, and later on the community starts acting out the same way as the previous community in charge, despite fighting them prior? Well the Brony fanbase is at that position.

The Bronies started because they wanted to enjoy the show freely without any accusations of bestiality, homosexuality, pedophilia and such. They wanted to enjoy the show for its high quality stortytelling and production values. That is fair because the show deserves a lot of credit for turning what was shamelessly a shallow marketing vehicle into an entertaining concept that EVERYONE could enjoy on many levels. That's why "Love and Tolerate" became their catchphrase: we would love those that came into the community and tolerated those that hated it or disagreed with it.

But then when they started getting noticed you can tell that the fame got to their heads. First Hasbro began to notice them and began to cater to them. The Equestria Girls song, giving Bronies toys, supporting sites like Equestria Daily and what may be the biggest shocker, turning Derpy Hooves into a canon character. Add to this sites like My Little Brony that feeds off of the popularity of the show and they now believe that they run the show and deserve all the attention that they get.

And I am not even kidding here. I have seen videos that celebrate Bronies in the most self-congratulatory way possible, saying that THEY destroyed SOCIAL MISCONCEPTIONS. Yeah they got people to take a show about rainbow horses seriously, but by the way they would speak about it it's like they solved the problem society has with homosexuality or something that actually matters in the grand scheme of things.

Then there's the "Love and Tolerate" mantra. The community shouts it all the time, yet doesn't even follow it. If an infamous Brony is introduced, they all bash and flame him. Whatever happened to accepting everyone as fans and not judge them? Now we can be selective about who we choose to support? They have begun to mock and ridicule people that either don't like the show or don't want to watch it. OK, so now it's OK to judge others? Worse is that the fanbase has convinced itself that it is composed ONLY of male viewers and either ignore the female audience and its intended audience of young girls. You say that a little girl loves the show, and it's like the worst thing ever. So again, "Love and Tolerate" means nothing now.

Also, The Hub is a pretty damn cool channel. Not only does it has Ponies, it has lots of new and classic shows that everyone should watch. But no. If the Hub were to promote something, the Bronies come in and force themselves into it. If on Facebook they advertise, say, Jem, they come in and say "NEED MORE PONIES", or "THE HUB IS ONLY WORTH IT FOR PONIES". On YouTube it's even worse, they can't even advertise their shows for toddlers without Bronies cursing up a storm demanding more ponies.

I am telling you, this will lead to a backlash. People will eventually get tired of ponies and bronies because they force themselves into every aspect of the internet. Yes, the show is awesome and popular. But the fanbase WILL run it to the ground and nothing will save it. Bronies are now beginning to become an elite club where THEY are the ones in charge of everything, and that will indeed piss people off. It's funny because we criticize Twilight fans for the exact, same thing, and Bronies do it, and at times WORSE.

Bronies are beginning to make the show less for everyone and more for themselves. I have seen Bronies demand that the show caters to THEM and THEM only due to the popularity of the fanbase. They want toys FOR THEM, they want the franchise to be ALL ABOUT THEM, when in fact girls and women love the show and have the right to enjoy it. Worse is that sites like Equestria Daily are embracing that sort of behavior. It WILL lead to the deterioration of the show. I just know it will, and it needs to happen to Bronies stop feeling so good about themselves.

I am telling you, this will lead to a backlash. People will eventually get tired of ponies and bronies because they force themselves into every aspect of the internet. Yes, the show is awesome and popular. But the fanbase WILL run it to the ground and nothing will save it. Bronies are now beginning to become an elite club where THEY are the ones in charge of everything, and that will indeed piss people off. It's funny because we criticize Twilight fans for the exact, same thing, and Bronies do it, and at times WORSE.

May I take this moment to say that I'm SO EFFING SICK of MLP fanart. And this is coming from someone that loves and creates fanart. While there are exceptions of course, the majority of the fanbase comes off as extremely obnoxious. I'd rather not get turned off from the show before I even have a chance to really sit down and experience it for myself . . . I don't have the Hub (no cable) and would rather not watch it on my computer monitor, so I've yet to watch anything beyond the premier.

I was planning on getting the DVD when it came out this month, but I'm not so sure I'm still interested.

Most if not all of the episodes are on youtube. Does you tv have a hdmi port? you can watch them that way. The first ep of MLP: FiM i watched was Dog and Pony Show... it's probably my favorite ep. Raity is my favorite.

I am telling you, this will lead to a backlash. People will eventually get tired of ponies and bronies because they force themselves into every aspect of the internet. Yes, the show is awesome and popular. But the fanbase WILL run it to the ground and nothing will save it. Bronies are now beginning to become an elite club where THEY are the ones in charge of everything, and that will indeed piss people off. It's funny because we criticize Twilight fans for the exact, same thing, and Bronies do it, and at times WORSE.

May I take this moment to say that I'm SO EFFING SICK of MLP fanart. And this is coming from someone that loves and creates fanart. While there are exceptions of course, the majority of the fanbase comes off as extremely obnoxious. I'd rather not get turned off from the show before I even have a chance to really sit down and experience it for myself . . . I don't have the Hub (no cable) and would rather not watch it on my computer monitor, so I've yet to watch anything beyond the premier.

I was planning on getting the DVD when it came out this month, but I'm not so sure I'm still interested.

And this is why I hate Bronies: they are turning people away from a genuinely wonderful show. It's one thing to be passionate about a fandom (heck we are all Disney fans and I spend my time reblogging Disney images on Tumblr), the other is to shove it down people's throat and not shut up about it, which is what Bronies are doing. And heaven forbid you say to them that you don't like the show or that you don't want to watch it, cause "Love and Tolerate" means nothing in the end.

After I wrote this last night I checked any websites that are anti-Brony, and turns out that even fans of the show are beginning to hate Bronies for the reasons I stated. Heck someone said that FiM is the best show to have the worst fanbase ever. I was SO happy I got the Hub cause I could watch the show directly without experiencing any Brony nonsense.

It just bothers me how they have the nerve to criticize Twilight fans for their nonsense, yet do it themselves. Just have one of the voice actresses say something and they will cream themselves in excitement. Don't believe me, I have proof...

Sorry for bumping this just to moan and bitch again, but the other night I was thinking about enigmawing's comment.

I think if people are genuinely curious about the show they should give it a chance as it is a really good show, especially considering the material it is based on. And just plain ignore the Bronies. If you can catch it on the Hub or find the upcoming DVD go for it as there you can avoid all the Brony nonsense and keep focused on the show itself.

The problem with the Brony fanbase is that it is one of the most disorganized fanbases ever conceived, and there is no sense of control. What do I mean exactly? Let's take, the Harry Potter fanbase for example.

The first book, Sorcerer's Stone, was released in the late 90s. It was successful but the franchise didn't take off until book three and four. By that point, the first book was being turned into a movie. When the movie is released in 2001, the fanbase exploded with both kids that got into the franchise as well as fans that read the book as kids. With each new movie and book that came out the fanbase became stronger because there was a sense of development throughout the whole story, and it was ripe to spin off onto countless ideas like theme park attractions and such. By the time Deathly Hallows Part 2 came out, the franchise has become ingrained in the mentality of many. It has ten plus years of books, movies, theme park attractions and more. Fans will also be spreading the word on the franchise thanks to multiple releases of the movies and the worlds are so massive they can easily do more with the stories, much like Star Wars did.

Friendship is Magic premiered in October of 2010. Had it not been for the Cartoon Brew controversy and how 4chan made fun of it, the premiere would have been ignored as the Hub was still pretty obscure and rare. It was the online distribution of episodes as well as small but dedicated fanbases that got it noticed. By May of 2011, Hasbro and the crew behind the show took notice of the fanbase. This happened in less than a year.

The problem I see here is that Friendship is Magic is destined to become a fad fanbase. That is that the fanbase will be loud and exist for a while, and later just stop. The reason Harry Potter has gone for long was because there was a constant release of high quality stories that kept the fans interested for years on end, and the franchise adapted itself so that everyone young and adult could get in and still be part of it.

Bronies like to THINK Friendship is Magic has obtained that sense of timelesness, but the truth is that an animated series can last up to 3 seasons minimum, four seasons maximum. Lauren Faust has stepped down as creator, and many writers have left to work on other projects. Plus Hasbro is a company that loves to reinvent its own franchises just so they can remain relevant. Who says that they will keep the FiM storyline once this generation ends? So you have the problem right there: the flow of content will eventually stop.

Second, in many fanbases there are "sub" areas where people celebrate the franchise in their own way. If that is confusing, let me explain. Now let us take the Disney fanbase. This is a HUGE one that surpasses generations, age, gender and even culture. For the most part, the fanbase celebrates Disney as Disney sees fit. That means that they will celebrate Disney as is, not as some alternate form or through a different belief.

In other words, people celebrate Disney through official events. That means that they celebrate official Disney pairings, stories and songs. Sure, there are fanfics dedicated to Disney, crack pairings and such, but those are both kept to a minimum and far and away from the official Disney culture.

Bronies have decided to mash ALL of their fandom into one collective nature. That means that crack pairings, official pairings, alternate interpretations, fan characters, fanfics and more are overly celebrated and accepted as being an official thing. To use a morbid example... I am sure that somewhere out there exists a Cinderella fanfic where she goes on a murdering spree while expressing her homoerotic desires to her victims, and later feeds people the remains of her victims, but it isn't brought for in the official fandom. Sure we can mention it on sites like this one, but we don't see it as fact.

In the Friendship is Magic fanbase, fanfics, original characters, fan pairings and such are highly celebrated, so whenever you see a Pinkie Pie video on YouTube, the first thing Bronies mention is the Cupcakes fanfic. When was the last time you saw a video of "A dream is a wish your heart makes" on YouTube and read someone say "Oh boy this is when the murdering spree begins!" and people wildly agreed with it? On other fanbases that type of behavior would be shunned upon, but is it accepted by Bronies. It comes as a double edged sword because Bronies often tend to force their own views on people, so they want people to accept that Rainbow Dash is a lesbian, that Pinkie Pie is a murderer and that Princess Celestia is an evil ruler.

It gets worse when Hasbro notices and THEN makes it official. The recent Derpy Hooves event came as both a good and bad thing. It shows that Hasbro is indeed aware of what is going on with Bronies, but at the same time it leads Bronies to believe that THEY are running the show, and it is making the show look like it will focus on what BRONIES want rather than to make a very appealing, universal show.

Then you have sites like Equestria Daily and My Little Brony that glorifies the Brony fanbase, even the bad stuff. It is cashing in on the popularity of the show, and it is further creating a divide between the general audience and the fanbase.

There is a reason Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, Disney and many other fanbases have gone for so long and still exist today. The franchises were aware that there is a rabid fanbase for them, but didn't bend itself to JUST please the fanbase. It knew that they needed to consider everyone that might be easily interested. Plus it kept fandom things FANDOM THINGS and not part of the whole franchise. Bronies want Friendship is Magic to be about them and JUST THEM. Never mind the fact that young girls enjoy it a lot, and that Lauren Faust first designed the show to be universally appealing. It NEEDS to have murderer Pinkie Pie. It NEEDS Doctor Whooves to have a Tardis. It WANTS pairings to be official, and Hasbro is trying too hard to please them.

I said it once and I'll say it again: this will kill the show too soon because Bronies will then have dominated the fanbase and it will alienate anyone that had a genuine interest.

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